Size Matters

The clothing donations we receive don’t always match up with our clients’ needs. There are several sizes we’re in desperate need of right now, and you can help.

It has probably happened to the majority of us women: you go into a store to buy clothing, you browse around and find several things that you like, only to discover that the pieces you want don’t come in your size. You leave empty-handed, perhaps having to try two or three other stores before you find the sizes you need. It can be incredibly frustrating, not to mention a real shot to your self-confidence. But we’re certainly not alone.

The average size of a woman in this country is now a 16 or an 18, according to this Forbes article (and the latest study from the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education). But many retailers have yet to catch up. And our boutique, sadly, has yet to completely catch up either.

Here at Bottomless Closet, we want every single woman who walks through our doors to have the same experience. Regardless of whether she’s a size 2 or a size 22, we want her to have access to a selection of professional women’s clothing in her size. We want her to be able to choose whether she wants to wear a suit, separates, or even a dress. We want her to feel sophisticated, put-together and empowered when she looks in the mirror. Self-confidence shouldn’t be dependent upon the size you wear.

We try our absolute best to make do with whatever we have available in the boutique at any given time, and sadly we’ve become experts at camouflaging an ill-fitting blouse with a scarf or using a brooch to cinch a neckline. There have been too many instances, though, where we’ve had to send our clients home with less pieces than we’d like. And much like that dreaded feeling when you go shopping for yourself, nothing feels worse for us than when we don’t have any pieces in the sizes our clients need.

Thanks to our amazing supporters, Bottomless Closet does receive plenty of donations in sizes 00-16. But right now, we are in desperate need of plus-size suits in sizes 18-22. We’re not exaggerating when we say that our racks are empty in these sizes! We would also of course welcome any donations of plus-size women’s professional clothing in sizes 18-30, though (including suits, separates, and dresses). So if you’ve lost a lot of weight recently (maybe you belong to a gym or a weight loss support group and can organize a plus-size clothing drive?), or you’re just cleaning out your closet, please consider making a plus-size clothing donation to us.

On a separate note, we could also really use donations of women’s work shoes in larger sizes, too. We struggle most with providing shoes to women who need a size 11 and up. Specifically, we could really use shoes in sizes 12-14.

Don’t have any plus-size items to donate, but still want to help? You can always make a monetary donation here. We also have an Amazon Wishlist set up here (and we even have a Payless wishlist set up for shoes, too.). We don’t want our clients to leave here empty-handed. We want to give women of all sizes the choices they deserve. But we need your help to do it.